Hi all,
I just want to post a positive thankyou to John from SOS who was patient and passionate in sharing his knowledge in helping me out when i went to enquire about buying a surf board. I am not a surfer but considering branching out from just my twin tip with little knowledge - gotta start somewhere i guess! 
In comparison i was exteremely disheartened and flabbergasted by the abrupt and limited service I recieved upstairs in a place in melville - it was not cool at all 
thankgod for the Johns and DM's of the world to be encouraging and to help us beginners and not so beginners out!
i get nothing but fantastic service from upstairs in melville, i been other places and will thats all ill say
yeah Johns a True Blue
When i was into wavesailing before kiteing - he was just as genuinely helpful and still is
got a good heart that bloke - its the shine that some others need to Polish up on 
Have to say I am also really impressed with SOS. I am normally a North of the river guy and Darren at AKS is also a legend and has helped me out a lot.
I have recently started a new job in Freo and when I popped in to SOS John was really friendly and accommodating.
So if you are NOR, speak to Darren at AKS in Scarbs. If SOR, SOS in Freo seems to be the way to go.
totally agree, you might want to add the great customer service from hold the line to that list,
John, DM, & Neil 
Importers clearly do not understand that if they give bad service to 1 customer that it snowballs. I read an article the other day that said due to social networking, if you p1ss 1 customer off, you are basically p1ssing off 1000 potential customers, at least. I reckon this is true, as I bought a North Jaime Pro a few years ago that snapped after very little use and the importer refused to replace the board and here I am still dissing the importer and would never touch another North product in my life........
I have only dealt with Neil @ Hold the Line & Daniel & Kite Addiction & both guys have provided good advice & great service.
Neil is a gentleman & No.1 @ kite repairs.
yes SOS is absolutely great!! had lessons with them the last couple of weeks and it's been great. The instructors are all really willing to help and give you advise on everything. The guys at the shop are really nice and easy going.
Thanks Mark, Nick, Andy and John for an awesome experience!
Yes, you are right, Hold The line Kites, for repairs, The Best in the buisness, he isnt out for profit, He charges a pittance for his expert work. I was talking about kiteshops and Australian agents. Not repairs, I was able to throw kites over his fence at his house, 1-2 days and it was fixed from change in your pocket, a geniune legend.
Ive had many happy dudes say is this a new kite, where is the repair???? Seen a Bathurst RX7 fully worked? Go to Hold the lines, Across the road from the wembley Hotel on Cambridge St. If he's not busy fix while you wait...
Sweet Sorry for Hijacking Your post...............btw John @SOS does all the bladder repairs for Neil
Old school kiting community stick together.
Had nothing but excellent service from Kiteaddiction. The only time I have been disappointed was when I didn't take their advice on products that were too advanced for my skill level. Other people that really are worth a mention are Darren Marshall (AKS) and Neil (Hold the Line).
"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten".
+1 for Kiteadditction as well
Fantastic service and never had a issue. These guys do all they can to get you back on the water ASAP if you have any problems.
Customer service indeed.
I bought a supposedly ex-demo kite from a certain dealer south of the river in Perth.
Was told no damage or repairs, get it home and find a really dodgy patch repair on a few holes, makes me think it was a trade in and not an ex-demo.
Sure it was only $500 and I would have expected a couple of holes, so I did get a bit of practice patching holes, but would have been nice to be told about the kite's condition up front.
And yeah, I know 'buyer beware', I should have checked the kite over carefully at the time of purchase, but wouldn't think of needing to, buying from a 'reputed' dealer- especially with the proclamation of no damage.
I end up spending another $300 in the shop at the time as he seemed like a decent guy.
After further thought based on the patching experience, I decide to replace the running lines on the bridles and contact the shop, at which I am told would be ordered in, then hear nothing further.
I email to enquire on when the bridles will be coming in; I get ignored for weeks.
It's easier for me to email during the day than call on the phone, plus it gives people time to respond in their own time instead of being put on the spot with a phone call; however not responding for weeks is full on taking the p*ss.
So in the end I was forced to contact the importer who did a great job and got the running lines for me.
After talking to the importer, it become somewhat obvious that I was painted as an unnecessary complainer by the dealer.
Needless to say I Woodn't recommend this shop to anyone.
....discredit a business on a public forum, just because of personal likes or dislikes....? Is that fair...? I am surprised Seabreeze gives space to this...
a lot of secondhand kites at shops are trade in's from people like you and me. With the same issues. Don't like the kite anymore, has been damaged, want something better. Retailers don't make money on secondhand gear, its a goodwill thing to take it. Retailer only get their money back from your trade in.
I can guarantee that the shop will not pull out the bladder and check it completely. All they will do is take kite out of bag and give it a quick pump up (if that) and a brief visual check.
If you don't like what you get for $500 then don't be a tight arse and buy new. Then you won't have to slag off retailers here on SB.
^^^^^^...yes, and then the forum becomes a war zone between "unnamed" supporters of various businesses, who can accuse and "bad mouth" any busines without having to be accountable for what they say...
btw businesses also put lots of hard earned $$$$, and even more time and effort to live on their passion.... to my knowledge "the shop in Melville" was the sponsor of the WA wave comp...
reputations are made, good and bad, unnamed "opinions" are the same,
example; waveslave, clever, always worth a read, shop attached opinions, it does'nt need rocket science to work out
A friend of mine has skin cancer, and flew to Brisbane to have his eye removed.
For the last 20 years he's worked in the Intensive Care Unit in Freo, and has seen all sorts of blood & guts.
After the operation, we talked and I asked him if he got any special treatment because he was a nurse.
He said .. "If you're a happy patient, the nurses will treat you well. Even though I work in ICU, if was a grumpy patient, they wouldn't like looking after me"
Moral of the story: When reviewing business, it's a two way street. Some people are tough customers to deal with, and sometimes staff in shops are off their game.
When you meet someone, you never know what battles they're fighting.
Build a relationship with your favourite shop, be a good customer, get good service.
There's plenty of shops to choose from.
Sorry fellas, topic locked.
